We must pursue the idea of unity, the future of Seychelles depends on it
By Lewis Betsy
I write this with a great sense of loss and despair. For decades now I have campaigned for my beloved Seychelles to achieve unity.
It is now March 2024 and there is nothing like it in sight… and the chances of unity taking on a tangible form soon are fading.
We can never forget the Hell we went through under Albert Rene, the dictator of Seychelles, and now we’re seeing another pattern similar to dictatorship from a leader we expected more from.
Certainly, President Wavel Ramkalawan has never committed any crime or atrocity and has none of the brutality of Rene, but there are some traits that are deplorable.
Ramkalawan promised a lot of things before he was elected, now he’s a different person altogether. He doesn’t listen and he doesn’t keep his word.
He came into power on the back of the Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission (TRNUC), but today he’s treating the victims like imbeciles and fools and he thinks he can get away with it.
Former President Danny Faure believed in unity and we discussed it at some length when I met him at State House in 2017. He and Ramkalawan agreed to set up the TRNUC.
This was an important milestone in the troubled history of Seychelles.
Since my release from Rene’s jail and arrival in the United Kingdom on 1st April 1980, I have never stopped thinking about my friends and all the suffering that they and other Seychellois went through after the 1977 coup.
Indeed, the TRNUC were given many details when I submitted my case in 2019.
I met the late Sir James Mancham when in the UK and he told me that he was going to fight for National Reconciliation for Seychelles. It was an excellent idea, one worth pursuing.
In the UK, with my friend Bernard Verlaque, we launched a newspaper called the Seychellois International. It was the first newspaper printed abroad to tell the world what was really happening in Seychelles.
Unity has been a beacon for me. It has always been close to my heart.
President Wavel Ramkalawan called for unity in his 2024 State of the Nation Address. Sadly, this failed to impress because – shockingly – it is obvious he is not serious about the issue.
Nor it seems is anyone else in Government.
In the National Assembly at every single meeting, politicians from both parties are at each other’s throats. There is a walkout almost every time.
It is shameful. Surely it is time these MNAs grew up.
If we cannot get our National Assembly members to unite, how are we ever going to get the Seychellois people to unite?
We need mature and sensible politicians, maybe even new parties that reflect common sense and purpose.
However, here’s an idea I think will help unity.
We should arrange a convention where politicians from all parties, plus all the other organisations in Seychelles, can meet and discuss a formal process to achieve unity. Following that, they would hold a referendum so the people of Seychelles can vote on the matter.
Otherwise, I cannot see national unity in my lifetime. Failure to achieve unity would be a disaster morally, socially and economically. Seychelles cannot afford to lose this opportunity.